H.E. Sheikh Nahyan says tolerance is the only way to confront challenges

Dubai, 17 November 2019

His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Honorable Minister of Tolerance, said the International Day for Tolerance is an important day to remind the world of the increasing necessity for global understanding and respect for human life.

He was addressing ‘A Salute to Tolerance UAE’ event organized by St. Mary’s Catholic Church, to express gratitude to the Rulers and people of the UAE for upholding the values of Tolerance and for making possible the visit of His Holiness Pope Francis to the UAE in the Year of Tolerance and reinforcing the message that the UAE is the ‘global capital of tolerance’.

The event was attended by His Grace Archbishop Francisco Padilla, Vatican Ambassador to UAE, H.E. Bishop Paul Hinder, Apostolic Vicar of the Vicariate of Southern Arabia, Rev. Fr. Lennie Connully, Parish Priest of St. Mary’s Church, leading UAE government dignitaries and leaders from different faiths.



“We far too often hear of numerous ethnic, religious, cultural and national conflicts. We see the rise of exclusive politics and discourses of division, even in places thought to be among the safest countries in the world. This intolerant behaviour threatens to weaken the fabric of living together that is so essential to who we are as human beings,” HE Sheikh Nahyan told the gathering.

“The Year of Tolerance has embraced the notion that only by thinking and working together can we collectively reach the promise that human ingenuity offers for a peaceful and prosperous global society.”

H.E. Sheikh Nahyan proudly recalled the historic visits to the UAE of His Holiness Pope Francis and His Eminence the Grand Imam of Al Azhar, Sheikh Ahmad El Tayeb in February of this year. “Their visits were a great tribute to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan who worked tirelessly to make this powerful and historic event possible. We were all honoured by their inspirational presence, as global forces for peace and compassion. In issuing the Abu Dhabi Declaration on Human Fraternity, they have focused attention on promoting tolerance around the globe, exemplifying the moral force all must exert if we are to meet the great global challenges of this twenty-first century.”

“I believe that it is most appropriate to be here at St. Mary’s Catholic Church to observe this International Day for Tolerance. Not only do you represent the many nationalities who reside in the UAE, you demonstrate that the values of tolerance I speak of are alive and in action." “Your sense of community is highly evident. Since your inauguration in 1967, you have offered a familiar, homely atmosphere, a place of comfort, for so many. You have been on this journey of tolerance with us from the very beginning, sharing our values in the past and for the future,” H.E. Sheikh Nahyan added.

His Grace Archbishop Francisco Padilla, Vatican Ambassador to UAE, while thanking the UAE for its eloquent display of tolerance, said: “The historic visit of Pope Francis to Abu Dhabi made the whole world see the UAE’s total commitment to the spirit of acceptance, respect, compassion and dialogue. The numerous events during the Year of Tolerance were a clear endorsement of a nation that brings together expatriates from around 200 countries in peaceful co-existence, an occasion to build bridges to each other through acceptance of universal values. I hope the Year of Tolerance will make this nation a beacon of light and hope to others who are persecuted because of extremism of views in other parts of the world.”

H.E. Bishop Paul Hinder, Apostolic Vicar of the Vicariate of Southern Arabia, while hailing the values of tolerance of UAE leaders and the legacy of Sheikh Zayed, called for eliminating all forms of exclusion. He said: “What we need is the courage to pass the mental barriers, to meet peoples of other faith and cultures, and appreciate them and work out common fields of action. The Abu Dhabi Declaration on Human Fraternity gives us some essential and very precious indications regarding the way to go.”

In his welcome speech, Fr. Lennie Connully, hailed the Rulers of the UAE and its people as well as the religious, cultural, social and political structures that go to make the UAE the ‘most secure, safe and peaceful place on the globe’. Speaking about Sheikh Zayed’s concept of tolerance he said: “Tolerance was not necessarily agreeing with everyone around. It was understanding and acceptance of the differences with great respect for the dignity of every person and his right to be different with all his beliefs, cultural patterns and all the richness he brings along.”

To mark the close of the Year of Tolerance, St. Mary’s Catholic Church, released a ‘Thank You UAE’ album containing writings, poems and drawings by the people of the parish. Two parish choirs performed the especially composed Tolerance Song in Arabic and English.

A spectacular audiovisual performance ‘UAE, the capital of tolerance’ marked the finale of the event. The drama presented a fictitious story of a young man from India who loses all his companies while travelling in a small boat, how he is rescued by an Emirati fisherman who himself had undergone similar experience, and how the easily accessible Sheikh Zayed comforted and guided him to get over the grief and begin life afresh.

‘A Salute to Tolerant UAE’ marked the culmination of a series of events organised by St. Mary’s Catholic Church during the Year of Tolerance in appreciation of the UAE’s magnanimity and tolerance towards all communities and faiths.

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